Shooting Days & Budgets! Where Is Tollywood Heading?

There’s a strong opinion doing the rounds that real filmmakers don’t take forever to make films. This is coming in the wake of Telugu films, which are routine commercial entertainers, taking 200, 250, and even 300 days to wrap up. Yet, the output doesn’t always justify the time spent. Inconsistent visuals, dragged narrative, and poor graphics are part of such films, which are produced in longer days and grander budgets. However, things are not like that with some creative directors.

If we have to throw examples left and right, films like Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya, wrapped in quick schedules under 35 days, Pokiri completed in under 75 days, and Animal, done in around 100 days. Even big-scale projects internationally, like The Odyssey, directed by the legendary Christopher Nolan, are being shot in controlled timelines under 90 days. The argument is simple. If you know your craft, you don’t need endless shooting days. And then comes the comparison.

There’s a belief that many directors today are over-dependent on scale rather than storytelling. Production planning has taken a backseat. And in some cases, films are being made more for hero image, satisfying fans, and raking up hype, rather than for solid cinematic value.

However, filmmaking today is not the same as it was 10-15 years ago. The scale has gone up. Technical demands have increased. VFX, multiple languages, pan-India releases, global standards, all add up to spending more time on the sets for most of the movies. However, long shoots shouldn’t be seen as inefficient, but the filmmakers should focus more on scripting so that the long shoot days feel worthwhile after the film hits the cinemas.

Speed alone doesn’t define quality. At the same time, not every fast film is a great film either. So, what Tollywood needs is ‘balance’.